Puerto Rico and the United States: The Inclusion and Evolution of Language Policy in U.S. Congressional Bills, 1989-2010

Abstract

From the beginning of the 20th century, language contact between Spanish and English has been a significant, and often polemical, aspect of the relationship between PuertoRico and the United States. A series of legislative proposals presented in the U.S. Congressional bodies in the latter half of that century were aimed primarily at the clarification of political status of the Island in relation to the United States. Nevertheless, they also included language policy to be imposed in/on Puerto Rico. This paper analyzes the inclusion and evolution of these policy proposals in a series of bills that were presented in the U.S. legislative bodies during the period of time from 1989-2010. The analysis situates the development of these proposals within the sociopolitical framework of the growth and development of Official English movements in the United States.